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Since May was my birthday month, I decided to treat myself and only read paper books sitting on my To Be Read shelf.  Of course my eyes were bigger than my time limit, but I did manage to read four books for pure pleasure this month (on top of my other required reading) so it was a huge win in my book (yes pun intended!). Plus this was my actual birthday cake thanks to my great friend Emily (and the gin in the background was awesome too!).

The Break by Katherena Vermette

I picked up this book a few years ago and from time to time I would pick it off my ‘to be read’ shelf, read the back and then place it back on the shelf.  I knew that I needed to be ready to read this book and timing is everything.  Well the time arrived.  This is an entwined story of women, family, generations, and tragedies.  The author is straightforward and writes in an easy to comprehend way, which is a perfect balance to the brutality experienced by the characters.  It’s hard to say I enjoyed this book; it was much more that the book had an affect on me with its magnitude. 

Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark by Cecelia Watson

I saw this book when it was first published and thought it looked interesting.  Life happened, and it slipped my mind.  However, a conversation with my niece, who was reading it, brought it back and she kindly gifted it to me after she finished.  This is an amusing look at a funny bit of punctuation.  For a small dot and comma, it holds a lot of power.  Whether giving rights to certain individuals or being used in prison sentences, this small mark can change lives.  I enjoyed the author’s dive into history and the various ways the semicolon has been used and abused. 

PS – Come on, you know as an editor – this was the perfect ‘read for fun’ book!

The Ventriloquists by E. R. Ramzipoor

Loving historical fiction I was surprised that this sat on my To Be Read shelf for so long. There were some wonderful characters that really made this book so enjoyable.  While I loved the caper they were trying to accomplish, an entire book of Lada and Gamin would have also pleased me.  The book is a little long with unnecessary segments.  Some were enjoyable but several were just tangents that didn’t seem to help with the story.  All in all I enjoyed this read!

Yesterday’s Echo by Matt Coyle

When a writer you enjoy suggests another author, I listen.  This book is the first in a series.  The main character, Rick, has all the flaws and good qualities (even if he doesn’t think so) that make for a very good read.  While I do get tired of the stereotype of these men falling for women who are physically perfect, this author at least made some of the women have chinks in their personalities.  Would I keep reading this series? Yes.